STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman JOANN DOWNEY
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblyman ERIC HOUGHTALING
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Tucker
SYNOPSIS
Requires DHS to study emergency response services for individuals with developmental disabilities.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning individuals with developmental disabilities.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Commissioner of Human Services shall commission a study of emergency response services regarding individuals with developmental disabilities. The study shall include, but shall not be limited to:
(1) reviewing relevant calls, as determined by the Commissioner of Human Services, to 911 and county mental health agencies originating from a facility that treats individuals with developmental disabilities, the residence of an individual with a developmental disability, or the school attended by an individual with a developmental disability, as well as the emergency responses thereto;
(2) determining the percentage of such calls that resulted in the removal of an individual from a facility within seven days of the call, including where the removed individual was relocated, whether the individual returned to the facility from which the individual was removed, and any resultant plan of care administered to the removed individual; and
(3) determining a uniform procedure to provide appropriate emergency response services to individuals with developmental disabilities to ensure that contracted community service providers are capable of providing appropriate community services, and to ensure that State resources to individuals with developmental disabilities are being properly utilized in the provision of emergency response services to individuals with developmental disabilities.
b. The Commissioner of Human Services shall report findings and recommendations made pursuant to this section to the Governor, and to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1) within one year of the effective date of this act.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire upon submission of the Commissioner’s report pursuant to section 1 of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Commissioner of Human Services (commissioner) to study emergency response for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Under the bill, the study is to include, but is not to be limited to: (1) reviewing relevant calls, as determined by the commissioner, to 911 and county mental health agencies originating from a facility that treats individuals with developmental disabilities, the residence of an individual with a developmental disability, or the school attended by an individual with a developmental disability, as well as the emergency responses thereto (2) determining the percentage of such calls that resulted in the removal of an individual from a facility within seven days of the call, including where the removed individual was relocated, whether the individual returned to the facility from which the individual was removed, and any resultant plan of care administered to the removed individual; and (3) determining a uniform procedure to provide appropriate emergency response services to individuals with developmental disabilities to ensure that contracted community service providers are capable of providing appropriate community services, and to ensure that State resources to individuals with developmental disabilities are being properly utilized in the provision of emergency response services to individuals with developmental disabilities.
The commissioner is to report findings and recommendations from the study to the Governor and Legislature within one year of the bill’s effective date.